Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia sees investment as the key to achieving the 6.7 percent economic growth target set in its 2012 state budget, a minister said.

"In 2011 investment grew 8.1 percent. This year it is expected to be higher," Development Planning Minister Armida Alisjahbana who is also chief of the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) said here on Tuesday.

She said achieving the 6.7 percent economic growth target in 2012 would be an uphill task as many other countries had even revised down their economic growth targets for the year in view of the impact of the economic crisis in Europe.

"Countries like China, India and Singapore have revised their economic growth targets for 2012," she said at a new year press conference.

But Armida expressed optimism the 2011 economic growth target of 6.5 percent would be achieved.

The National Statistics Agency (BPS) would announce the realization of the 2011 economic growth in early February.

Armida said in 2011 consumption grew 4.7 percent, public spending 4.1 percent, exports 15.4 percent and imports 14.8 percent.

Sector-wise, agriculture grew 3.2 percent, mining 2.4 percent, processing industries 5.9 percent, electricity (including gas and water) 5.5 percent, construction 6.5 percent, trade (including hotels and restaurants) 0.1 percent, transportation and communication 10.6 percent, finance 6.8 percent and services 6.7 percent.

On the poverty rate, Armida said the BPS was expected to release poverty data twice a year later so that it would be possible to have more recent figures

By March 2011 the number of poor people in the country decreased to 30 million (by 12.49 percent) from 31.02 million (13.3 percent) in 2010.

"By September 2011, the number of the poor reached 29.89 million or 12.36 percent," she said.
(Uu.H-YH/HAJM/S012)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
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